The Green Bay Packers may need to wait at least another week for the return of rookie receiver Romeo Doubs.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Doubs, who has missed two straight games with an ankle injury, probably wouldn’t be ready to play against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12.
“He’s getting closer, but I think it’s a little premature to put that out there right now,” LaFleur said Friday.
The Packers didn’t place Doubs on injured reserve, suggesting they believed he would be back within a four-game window.
Doubs was injured on an 18-yard catch on the offense’s first play from scrimmage against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 6. The week prior, he caught four passes for 62 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills.
Doubs hasn’t practiced since the injury. The Packers are back on the practice field on Wednesday.
Over nine total games and 412 offensive snaps, Doubs has caught 31 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns on 50 targets. He is averaging 6.3 yards per target.
The Packers go to Chicago to play the Bears in Week 13 and then have the team’s bye week in Week 14, making it possible the team will keep Doubs off the field until Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Down the stretch, the Packers are hopeful that they’ll have Doubs and emerging rookie star Christian Watson (five touchdown catches the last two games) on the field together.
“Those are two guys were definitely excited about,” LaFleur said. “The more these young guys play, the more confidence they are getting, the better they are going to play. And they got some juice, too. I think that’s been a notable difference with Christian out there.”
Without Doubs, the Packers could give more snaps to rookie Samori Toure, who played only 16 snaps and wasn’t targeted over the last two games.
“Every week, we’ll have a plan. He’s another guy we need to rotate into the mix more,” LaFleur said.
